Sanitary or not, using saliva to impact performance has become common across many sports in all parts of the world. But perhaps no sport has used spit more than cricket, as in the past bowlers would routinely polish balls with saliva. But that practice has now been banned permanently.
On Tuesday, the International Cricket Council announced that it has permanently banned the use of saliva to polish the ball in international cricket, according to a report from The Associated Press.
This change isn’t necessarily new. In fact, it’s already been in effect for over two years after the ICC first banned the use of saliva as a COVID-19 precaution back in 2020. But it’s no longer just a temporary measure with the ICC saying “it is considered appropriate for the ban to be made permanent.”
The ICC announced this change along with several other changes, but the ICC’s now-permanent ban on the use of saliva was the most noteworthy.
“I was pleased with the productive contribution of the committee members which resulted in key recommendations being made,” cricket committee chairman Sourav Ganguly said in a statement, according to the Associated Press. “I thank all members for their valuable input and suggestions.”
